Changes to possible Lady’s Island development dealt a setback

A possible Lady’s Island development was dealt a setback Monday when a panel rejected changes to a long-dormant development plan.

The Greenheath development would include 313 houses and 25,000 square feet of commercial space on almost 100 acres between Brickyard Point Road and Fiddler Drive. Owner Fred Trask has had a planned-unit development agreement in place since 1997, with no activity.

Representatives of Trask and Beaufort builder Alan McNeal asked to remove a 30-foot buffer on Fiddler Drive from the original plans to allow 24 home lots to face the street. They also asked for lots behind the ones facing Fiddler and for some townhome lots to become single-family.

The new lots fit the feel of the area and would better connect the new neighborhood with nearby residents, attorney Chris Inglese argued. He told the panel work could begin this fall or early next year if plans were approved and zoning in place.

Beaufort County staff has opposed the changes to the agreement and a northern Beaufort County panel charged with reviewing the plans recommended denying the change. Nearby residents also spoke out against the changes and the development for its effect on the area.

People bought homes on Fiddler Drive with the expectation any development across the street would be hidden, said Bob Semmler, a member of the Metropolitan Planning Commission that voted against the changes Monday. He said the community has changed since the agreement was first approved.

“I’ve got some real problems with this,” Semmler said.

The changes next face a public hearing before the Beaufort County Planning Commission on April 4. The amendment would then have to go the County Council’s natural resources committee and before council three times to be approved.

The development agreement approved in 1997 was extended 10 years in 2010.

Beaufort County planners opposed the changes for their effect on the area residents, because the new plan reduces open space from about 23 acres to 17 acres and initial homes would be built on individual septic systems and not public sewer.

Cooter Ramsey, the architect who created the plan, said some open space could be returned if more green was a requirement. Inglese said he and the project’s other participants would meet with county staff before April to try to reach a compromise.

Inglese said Trask has turned down national builders and houses would be built a few at a time to ensure it is done with the surrounding community in mind.

“I’m really convinced that this plan is a better plan and promotes good neighborhood design,” Inglese told the commission.

Some of those opposed Monday spoke out against entire development.

When news of the proposed changes to the agreement circulated this month, some nearby residents did not know the development agreement existed or what was planned for the wooded area adjacent to Coosa Elementary School.

Residents’ concerns include the pressure on the schools, traffic issues created by the new families, the animal habitat and an existing trail system through the wooded area.

“I would have never in a million years bought where I bought,” Fiddler Drive resident Larry Bank told commissioners Monday. “If it starts, I’m going to move somewhere else on Lady’s Island.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Changes to possible Lady’s Island development dealt a setback."